Now is the Time to Nip Hawkweed in the Bud

Maggie Wall/KMXT

You may have noticed that pretty orange flower that’s blossoming around town right now. They’re called hawkweed and they seem to be popping up just about everywhere. And therein lies the problem.

As KMXT’s Maggie Wall reports orange hawkweed is an invasive species of flower and one local woman is asking everyone to help snip the flower heads before they go to seed.

More information on Orange Hawkweek can be found here.

— (Pick Hawkweed 3:53 SOC)

Hawkweed is easy on the eyes, with its bright, clear orange color standing in contrast to Kodiak’s dull grays and blacks. And the green background of grass and field weeds really shows off the orange blooms.

But, as Cheryl Boehland told the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly on Thursday, hawkweed is wicked stuff:

-((Toxic waste :35 "There’s a lot of gardeners … for your effort."))

Despite the assembly having the sales tax ordinance still to come on the agenda the mood in the early part of last Thursday’s regular assembly meeting was light thanks to Boehland’s humor. In fact, it was the sales tax issue that gave Boehland the idea to make her appeal for volunteer blossom pickers:

-((Going to seed 1:07 "A half-hour ago … that we can do."))

Boehland suggests people not stress out about the effort, just find a patch-small patches work just as well as bigger ones–and start dead-heading the blossoms.

But-DO NOT throw them out:

-((Adopt a patch :36 "Just adopt it … getting rid of it."))

Assembly woman Sue Jeffrey wondered if people could first enjoy the beauty of the pretty flowers:

-((Sue put in vase :28 "What about picking … every spring."))

So, quick, before those dreaded toxic waste orange flowers get a chance to spread their seeds like dry dandelions, go adopt a patch on a roadside near you. Double bag the blossoms and give Cheryl Boehland a call at 539-8529 to dispose of the flowers.

I’m Maggie Wall.

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